


07:00

by Nagiichi



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 09:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3321821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagiichi/pseuds/Nagiichi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Touka and Yoriko's college lifestyles aren't all that different from the ones they lived in high school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	07:00

       The sole light in the room stemmed from a small lamp on the desk in the cornerーits bright bulb dulled by the shade surrounding it, tinting it a faint yellow hue.

       With an inaudible grumble, Kosaka Yoriko crinkled her nose, her bluntly trimmed fringe tickling the skin on her arm as she rose her head up from the impromptu pillow. Albeit still dazed, she squeezed her eyes shut--her lashes only fluttering open once more before she straightened her back out--the blurred outlines of her surroundings finally coming into view: a fully-dressed bed, the polka-dotted alarm clock beside it, layers of drawers, seamlessly stacked together against the adjacent wall...

       ...A fellow university student with dark, ruffled hair, her face still buried in the baggy sleeves of her parka.

       Blinking, the pen that had managed to remain wedged between Yoriko's fingers as she slept fumbled beside her opened notebook.

       "Touka..." The shorter girl murmured, her freed hand hoisting itself up to rub her eyes. When the other's shadow didn't even do so much as stir, she leaned across the low table--the tip of her finger nudging her companion's forehead. 

       "Touka, we fell asleep..."

       Instinctively digging herself farther into the pile of notes beneath her to evade the jab, the one known as Kirishima Touka grunted. With the corner of her lips curling into a smile, Yoriko chuckled, her pupils quickly glancing over at the clock.

_06:42._

       Startled, her shoulders stiffened.  _We must have passed out almost four hours ago._  Hastily, she pressed her palms to the wooden surface and forced herself upward, scurrying over to the window before drawing aside the curtains--the radiance of the early-morning sun gushing in, instantaneously mingling with the artificial light to its right.

       After quickly spinning around, she only managed to take one step towards the door before something reflexively snatched her ankle.

       "Don't go..."

       With her unfixed eyes peeking out from half-opened lids, Touka whined, still groggy.

_Ayato, her brother..._  
 _Kaneki, her former coworker..._  
 _Hinami, her former roommate..._

For the ghoul, it seemed as though every person she managed to grow close to vanished without even the faintest sign of hesitation.  _Was she the issue?_ She'd ponder the thought when alone, the apartment she'd rented seeming to grow only more vacant after Hinami's departure. 

_The mat before the door, where her brother had stormed off in a fit of anger... The corner beside the window, where the brunette's wide grin stole Touka's glance before landing on the foreign bird she'd feared so much..._

She loathed sleeping amongst the haunting shadows of her memories and quickly found herself taking refuge elsewhere. The first evening, Yoriko had been startled by Touka's abrupt proposal of a sleep-over, though her closest friend all too eagerly agreed--her energy seeming to magnify at least three times more than usual. In fact, it only took a few weeks into the arrangement before  _she_ began inviting the insomniac to her own apartment.

To Touka, it was a miracle Yoriko stuck beside her for so long. _  
_

_But how long could this bliss last before she, too, took her leave?_

Certainly not all that long, she'd figure--she'd  _figured,_ even long before they'd taken entrance exams to differing schools--given how harshly their personalities would clash. Yes, the girl who practically emitted sparkles worthy of fictional comics would eventually grow bored of her pessimistic self; it was only natural.

With her hands on her knees, the aforementioned Kosaka Yoriko bent forward, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she laughed, only to further perplex her disoriented friend, who was slowly but surely coming to her senses, her grasp on the other's leg loosening. 

"I'm not going anywhere, silly. Rather,  _you_  should be the one leaving. Don't you have an exam in a little over an hour?"

Touka's jaw dropped agape, her head snapping in the clock's direction--less for affirmation and more in empty prayer of the reminder being a joke, despite being perfectly aware that the chances of that were far closer to zero than one--before she threw herself up off the cushion, her feet fumbling forward from their disuse. 

"...Shit!"

Running her fingers through her short locks, the frequently tardy student dashed to her bag and rummaged through its contents before fishing out her outfit and tossing her books back in their place--outlying pens clicking together against their solid covers.

Ceremoniously, Yoriko stepped aside, her gaze merrily trailing Touka as she scrambled into her bathroom. From experience, she'd already managed to memorise the other's morning routine, and thus promptly adjusted her own position to stay out of her way.

Toothbrush clenched between her teeth, Touka unzipped her sweater and flung it aside, swiftly replacing her undershirt with a larger, blue t-shirt, and swapping her pyjama pants with shorts.

Scurrying over to the discarded clothes, Yoriko plopped down onto her knees, carefully folding the sleeves behind the parka before pressing it in half, and then half again, vertically--a hum resonating from between her closed lips. 

"H-hold on!" Muffled, Touka spit her mouthful of water into the sink and tucked her brush back into the cup, stealing an extra glance at her freshly washed face in the mirror for a final time before scampering to the pile. "I've got it. I'd be an awful person if I didn't at least clean up after myself."

With the pants snatched away from her, Yoriko could only blink, her now-emptied hands fumbling back into her lap. Though Touka  _insisted_  she make herself as invisible as possible, Yoriko honestly enjoyed helping the former out and took great pride in seeing the girl genuinely smile, as if its appearance was as wealthy of a find as organic eggs for  _half_  of their normal price--a deal she'd bragged to Touka about for nearly a week after mixing them into at least six different dishes.

"That's not true." Shaking her head in denial, the cooking majour puffed her cheeks, her affirmatively clenched fists proudly resting against her own hips. "My first class isn't for a good number of hours, anyway. Besides, life is more lively with you around."

Touka paused for a moment, her long fringe still shielding her face as she stared down at the garment in her hand--yet even the adjacent girl could spot the corner of her lips subtly curling upward at the remark, her own stomach leaping in joy. After carefully placing them atop her books and zipping it closed, Touka stood again, slipping its strap over her shoulder before making her way back to where she had kneeled only shortly before. Crouching down, she carefully wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck, resting her chin on her head.

"Your exam isn't until later today, right? Sorry for always imposing on you by staying over, but thanks for waking me up, Yoriko. Good luck with yours."

Placing one of her palms over the back of Touka's hands, Yoriko closed her eyes, beaming as she spoke.

"I like studying together, even if our courses are completely different. It's almost as if we're still attending the same high school."

As if savouring the few seconds she could still spare, Kirishima prolonged the hug for a while, finally resolving to peck the other's cheek before heading towards the door, her thin fingers curling around the cold knob and twisting it to the side, her gaze still casted behind her.

"Don't forget to stop by :re for your celebratory dessert, either."

With her thumb flexed upward, Yoriko patted her stomach.

"I would never."


End file.
